The Daily Reporter | Contractor's Handbook

Subcontractors trying to break into the limited-bidding sector are like fishermen angling for the big one: That's the Spirit

They put their best project on the hook and hope a quality design/build team bites.

"A speaker at a meeting once said 15 percent is doing it and 85 percent is making sure people know about it," Don Croysdale, American Subcontractors Association of Greater Milwaukee executive director, said. "It's most important to be able to do the job and demonstrate you are a capable performer. That you are a known quantity with consistent results."

Don Kanable, Klein-Dickert Co. vice president in Madison, said his company broke the design/build barrier by focusing on a particular group of general contractors.

"We're pretty specific with the contractors we match up with, and we don't try to play the whole field," he said. "You just need to get in on the ground floor when the package is being put together."

But that won't guarantee involvement in the design/build process, Kanable said. There is just no easy-to-follow rule for subs who want to move away from hard bids and into limited bidding.

"Mainly, you need to network and have a history because they're going to be looking for completion dates and a certain level of quality," he said. "You have to be bondable in some cases. It's really who you know." A design/build team must show an owner it is capable of handling the job, especially because low bid doesn't guarantee an award. If the team has an unproven link, the owner might shy away.

"The owner needs that security blanket that says you have done it before," Kanable said. "So start with the small jobs."

Jim Lange, president of C & C Erecting Inc. and Mega Construction Inc. in Waukesha, said the key to working on a successful design/build team is simple if the sub does good work.

"First, you have to find the guys who are doing the work," he said. "And second, you have to convince them you are qualified enough to be a part of their team."

Most good design/build teams approach a job with two or three subs to choose from at each position, Lange said. A sub can become a part of that list by letting the design/builder know they are available.

"If everybody on the list is doing the job then it's tough getting in with the good guys," Lange said. "But if somebody falls down, then that's an opportunity for you."

Once subs get a chance with a design/build team, they must show they are capable of working in a design/build atmosphere, Lange said. He said design/build requires subs to work on theories and then back them up during the job.

"You have to be able to picture the project in your mind and come up with numbers that will be competitive and not put you out of business because there is a lot of up-front thinking," Lange said. "You have to show you can handle the work and are reputable enough to stand behind your prices."

Lange said subs must be willing to provide value engineering and creative suggestions during the design phase without necessarily expecting to get paid for every idea. He said the payoff could be worth the sacrifice.

"Once you become part of a team, your reward is continuous business, and you get work because you are a proven entity," Lange said.

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